Episode 439: August 25, 2013

When Kentucky was still a wilderness in Colonial days, Pennsylvania was a hotbed of whiskey distilling. Back then, the Keystone State was known for its rye whiskies. Over the last several decades, though, Pennsylvania’s distilling industry dried up and withered away. Herman Mihalich and John Cooper are trying to revive the tradition with their Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey, producing it themselves at a converted wool mill in the Philadelphia suburb of Bristol. We’ll hear their story on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Jack Daniel’s is expanding, John Teeling’s been pulled back into the Irish Whiskey business, the new Parker’s Heritage Collection Bourbon has a mission of raising funding — and awareness — for ALS research, and this week’s tasting notes include one of whisky’s Holy Grails, the Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23-year-old Bourbon.

Links: Dad’s Hat | Jack Daniel’s | Heaven Hill | Midleton | Catoctin Creek | New Zealand Whisky Company | William Grant & Sons | The Balvenie